Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2015 6:47:42 GMT -5
I got word one of the camps had a moose and needed extraction. Bill had a really bad cold so I took the 185 up to get the 2 hunters and their moose on Upper Bark Lake. It was nice flying to begin with, with a little radiation fog coming up here and there on the way up, but things were about to change. I loaded them and their moose on in the back of the 185 after sticking the painter's cloth down that I used to keep the plywood floor reasonably clean, and kept as much of the load forward as possible for C of G reasons. Nevertheless, we were a "tad heavy". It took close to a mile to get off the water at Upper Bark, which we (fortunately) had, and our climb rate in the cold air was a "spectacular" 300 fpm at climb power, but we made 2500 for the trip back. Things had changed "slightly" as a cold front was moving in and thunderstorms (rare for this late in the season) had moved in. They were widely scattered, but one was situated almost over the base, so after some deviations to the east while enroute, I snuck in under the edge of one on approach into the base. It was a bit of a bumpy ride but everyone survived and fortunately no one needed a sic-sac. Down and tied up, the happy hunters got their moose and set off for the south and "civilization". Pictures to follow tonight or tomorrow.